Kilbaha Gallery marks a decade in business on the Loop Head Peninsula this year. Established in 2014 by sisters in law Liz Greehy and Ailish Connolly, it lies across the road from where Liz grew up and where her brother, sculptor Seamus Connolly carries on the tradition of operating the family foundry. For the two women, setting up the art gallery was a natural and organic thing for them to do at the time. “I grew up in the industry because my brother Seamus is a sculptor and my father [Jim] before him was a sculptor and there’s a bronze foundry in the family. So when Ailish married Seamus some years later obviously it is something we talked about as a family on and off. And we were certainly very familiar with the industry; we were both kind of living it without being artists ourselves so setting up the gallery seemed like a very natural and organic thing to do …

The village of Carrigaholt on the Loop Head Peninsula has marked the end of an era with the closure of Keane’s grocery shop on October 1. For generations, Keane’s shop has been an essential resource for the community as well as a popular and often photographed shop for the many visitors to the area. Situated across the road from the pier and Carrigaholt Castle, it has operated in the same family for 194 years. Although the grocery side of the business has now ceased, the Keane family will continue to operate the bar whilst preserving the traditional look of the shop’s interior. Speaking to The Clare Champion, proprietor Pakie Keane said it was a “huge decision” to close. The decision was not an easy one for Pakie and Margaret (Mags) Keane to make nor was it a sudden decision. They had been contemplating it for the last few years, yet always found themselves putting it off for another year, slow …

Uisce Éireann has said it is working to restore water supply “as quickly as possible” following a burst watermain in Kilrush. The areas affected include Kilrush, Killimer, Cooraclare, Creegh, Mullagh and surrounding areas in the county. Homes and businesses in Kilrush and surrounding areas may experience low water pressure, temporary water discolouration or intermittent disruptions to water supply today. The water utility company has said expert water service crews have been dispatched and are carrying out the required repair works, with every effort being made to complete this work as quickly as possible. Works are scheduled to take place until 8pm this evening (Tuesday). “Following repair works, it typically takes two to three hours for normal supply to be fully restored to all areas as the water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network. We understand how disruptive unplanned outages are and we regret the inconvenience caused. We would like to …

The five winning photographers of the Kilkee Chamber of Commerce Photo Competition 2024 have been announced, and they will be awarded their prizes this coming weekend. The annual photography competition, which is held throughout the summer months, looks for the best pictures taken of the West Clare seaside town each year. Judge, Annabel McMahon explained what the competition entails: “We asked everyone who lives in or were visiting Kilkee to ‘getsnappin’ and send us their best photograph of Kilkee. “The theme of the photo competition was ‘what Kilkee means to me’ and the beautiful images reflect the affection and emotion the entrants feel for Kilkee. There was a great response to the competition with well over 100 entries. “The judges, Kim Tittichai, Annabel McMahon, Cillian Murphy and Frank Cosgrove had a challenging, but very enjoyable, job to select the top five winners and a further 20 who were awarded spot prizes. The resulting images and sentiments make a wonderful record …

Love on the Loop was certainly the order of the day when Loop Head Lighthouse in West Clare recently hosted the first wedding ceremony ever to take place on its grounds. The special day on the stunning Loop Head Peninsula took place on Saturday, September 7 when the team at the lighthouse had the honour of hosting Sarah Carr and Darragh Enright as they celebrated their love in front of a gathering of 60 of their friends and family at the base of the majestic lighthouse. The ceremony was led by Margaret Gammell, a humanist celebrant and marriage solemniser from Shannon, and the couple exchanged their vows before her and their family and friends. Afterwards, the wedding party enjoyed sandwiches at the location before heading off to Vaughan’s Barn in Kilfenora for their reception. Operations Manager, Simon Day revealed the couple were absolutely “full of the joys” as the celebrated their marriage. And they were lucky with the weather on …

A veterinary surgeon and certified veterinary herbalist from West Clare, who is now a newly fledged author, is set to launch a range of pet supplements as well as a book at the National Ploughing Championships next week. Dr Sinéad Mellett, who is originally from Carrigaholt has been developing the range of products for the past year and a half. She left general practice last year to start up the Natural Veterinary Company and its range of pet supplements has been formulated by the vet herself, and is manufactured in Ireland. “The supplements are for dogs and cats and have been developed using high dose herbal and marine ingredients, based on clinical research and evidence based medicine,” she said. “In general practice, healthier, alternative options for dogs and cats are few and far between and when I began my studies in herbalism and found the growing research base behind traditional medicine, as well as the repetitive results I was getting …

A Ballynacally childcare business owner has moved into her brand new premises this week, thanks to her father organising its construction in just five weeks. Twenty nine year old Laura Corbett had been running Laura’s Childcare providing a before and after school service out of Ballynacally National School since 2020 until June. Laura is from the village, had attended the local school herself, and was keen to provide a childcare service in her home place. And so, having purchased the former Daly’s pub in the village in January, when planning permission came through her father Martin, a builder, set to work on the project building the new facility from the ground up in five weeks. And with her dad’s help, Laura is certainly defying all the odds as many early learning and childcare operators are currently closing around the country due to increased public liability costs, higher operating costs, frozen fees, and issues around the Core funding grant. “It was …

Leonora Carey, sister of sitting TD, Joe Carey is to seek the Fine Gael nomination to run in the general election. Ms Carey has confirmed today that she will be seeking a nomination at the Clare Fine Gael selection convention on September 6 to run as a candidate in the upcoming general election. The Clarecastle woman, who has served as Chair of the party’s National Executive Council, is hoping to retain the seat held by her brother, Joe, since 2007. Her father, Donal, served as Fine Gael TD for Clare from 1982 to 2002 and Minister of State from 1995 to 1997. An experienced political strategist at regional and national level, she is currently employed as Occupational Therapist Manager with the University of Limerick Hospitals Group having previously worked with Milford Care Centre. “Although I have held positions at officer level in Clare and Dublin Central for almost 30 years, I am fully aware that there is no greater honour …